Bad Sight, but New Vision

After my valiant attempt to retrieve my glasses from the bottom of Sarasota Bay, I reflected a bit on the importance of letting go. Just as I have to let go of my glasses and adjust to a new way of looking at things, so do we as a society need to let go of Sometimes we have to learn to cope without things, and sometimes when things are taken from us, it is only to make room for the new. Just like I’m going to need to cope without the luxury of glasses for awhile, I think that we as a people need to let go of many of the systems that are not working for us. However, I hope that we can let go of these things willingly and voluntarily instead of having them stripped from us.

Fortunately, I think the answers on how to do these things are being provided as we open ourselves up to them. They’ve actually been here all along; we’ve just decided not to notice them.

Our main problem is that we have, under the regime of capitalism, have placed the majority of our understanding of value in this thing called money. Without a doubt, we as a country, indeed as western civilization, have embraced the love of money. Now, I am not a religious man, but I do still appreciate the lessons that Jesus shared. Many of those lessons have been repeated throughout history by spiritual gurus who may have never even heard of Jesus. So when Jesus said that money was the root of all evil, based upon the injustice, inequality, bigotry, and environmental degradation I see in the world around me, I don’t think he was wrong.

Currently, too many of our systems are operating with greed as the driving force and with money as the primary goal. If the human race is to survive and realize the opportunity to participate in the creation of the new heaven and new earth we in the Judeo/Christian tradition have been waiting for, we need to let our industrious nature return to a simpler and more focused direction than merely the development of the man-made currency that too often serves to divide and destroy us instead of sustaining us and giving the life of abundance we truly want.

Our food production system should be about producing food, not making money. Our healthcare system should be about providing healthcare, not about making money. Our creative industries should be about creating fingers which point to truth, not about making money. There is a growing movement here in America that may now be as loud as in other countries, but it is happening. The more I connect with people, the more I realize how many of them are ready for the changes that are taking place. The status quo is not as esteemed as one would come to believe by watching television. And while there may be little an individual can do, there is a lot that a country of individuals can do. One of the most powerful is our ability to cultivate community. And although we are connected globally, it is what we do locally that will bring about the changes we long to see.

Let us come to that point where we can realize money as a tool for us to realize abundance and a representation of that value, but also realize that it is not, in and of itself, abundant or valuable. There are too many wonderful things in the world for us to continue to be fixated on this silly little thing called money. Perhaps we should take a moment to read the inscription we scrawled upon these limited edition reproductions we call money and put more trust in God than in the systems and industries that we have created so that we can revel in our conveniences and forget about our responsibilities.

Steve McAllister describes himself as a Renaissance Man. An author, filmmaker, songwriter, and perpetual artistic experimenter, he has recently re-released his second bookThe Rucksack Lettersinto paperback to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the journey. A journey of ink and soul, the book recounts his year and a half trek through 26 states, exploring the underbelly of America in order to better know himself. A pivotal first step for a generation in search of a new direction,The Rucksack Letters is available now. His latest book is How to Survive an Estralarian Mind Meld. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.